Anna Piutti~Poetry Without Borders ~
A poet has no borders. Will stand in any destination then with his or her poetic voice, it will be a starting point creating a new home. A poet is not necessarily a binding to poet herself or himself in his mother tongue, poetry reaches you in any language, for when poetry calls, it can call you in many languages not bound with your own language. Anna Piutti may be among a number of poetic faces whom their inspiration sparked through a foreign Language. Anna can be found in a blog titled Red As Wake http://annapiuttipoetry.blogspot.com/
The flight to Italy carries me with anticipation, for LIP is a first journey but this trip had to be taken meeting Anna in her homeland. Italy can only be described through an eye of an Italian: "I find my country fascinating. I am literally surrounded by history, amazing architecture, and art. As times passes, I like to see how ultra modern buildings and Roman, or fifteenth century buildings co-exist. Some people are upset at the sight of advertising posters/boards on ancient buildings in historical cities such as Venice. Time won’t stop. It’s inevitable; it’s just history taking its course”." Anna draws for us an image of modern Italy.
The flight to Italy carries me with anticipation, for LIP is a first journey but this trip had to be taken meeting Anna in her homeland. Italy can only be described through an eye of an Italian: "I find my country fascinating. I am literally surrounded by history, amazing architecture, and art. As times passes, I like to see how ultra modern buildings and Roman, or fifteenth century buildings co-exist. Some people are upset at the sight of advertising posters/boards on ancient buildings in historical cities such as Venice. Time won’t stop. It’s inevitable; it’s just history taking its course”." Anna draws for us an image of modern Italy.
She continues sketching a deep picture of where poetry stands in Italy "Poetry has always been a very important part of Italian literature. Many Italian poets are well-known and widely studied worldwide. Just think of Dante Alighieri and his Divine Comedy, or how the Petrarchan sonnet form was imported from Italy by the English Sir Thomas Wyatt and Henry Howard, the Earl of Surrey in the sixteenth century. Aside from that, Italy is still forging very talented poets who mostly write in Italian, but whose work can easily cross geographical borders thanks to the internet, and to international poetry magazines. Gradiva - International Journal of Italian Poetry, is one of them."
One of the hardest part when one finds a flower and to answer our inquisition, we often feel the need to find its true seeds, petals needs to be plucked one after another. My journey was short, time was not allowing me to pluck the petals. So I faced Anna with a question about where can she be found: "As a so-called commuter student, I can easily be found aboard trains and city buses in the early mornings and evenings. The remaining part of my day is usually spent taking classes, and/or studying in University halls. When I’m on a break I enjoy spending quiet time at home, and meeting up with the people I love." With ease explaining who is the person behind the poetry. My thoughts still lingered with other question for how poetry added the person she is "I can’t tell for sure whether writing has added to who I am, or whether it has simply been one of the many ways of expressing who I already am." She stated in firmness. So I conjured her with another question as to why she chose English as medium of her poetic voice "I’ve always found the English language deeply fascinating. Its vocabulary, sounds, and the word games which can easily spring from it have made it particularly suitable for the kind of poetry I write. I often think and dream in English, and the thoughts which lead me to start working on a poem come to me directly in English. I don’t have any first drafts in Italian. I haven’t written any poems in my native language yet, but I might in the future."Gasp
How could one not crave
the kind of truth that makes
trust skip a beat
and fall
amidst wisteria storms
when the rageful season
swarms
and sneers, shamelessly
infesting the senses?
Copyright © 2006, Anna Piutti
Anna finds herself woven with her poetry, a bonding that can not be detached, its Oneness: "There is no detachment between my poetry and I. You will find me in my verses, regardless of what each single poem focuses on. I find inspiration in the world around me, in the way it resounds inside me. I am often inspired by vivid dreams I have. As a matter of fact, I worked with specific oneiric material in three of my poems (“Oneiric 1, 2, and 3”)", Anna explains…
Oneiric 1 (The Moon Lantern)
Its paper skin, so tense and fragile,
holds the sublime power of unnatural
paleness.
The cold light from its
miniature heart whispers ultrasound
lullabies.
Round, it hangs from a
shelf, in still loneliness.
A moon lantern in the dark:
nothing but a half-sleep snapshot
in vivid haziness, a subliminal
message from dormant
realities.
A smooth and ghastly sphere,
it reigns through inexpressive eyes.
It smiles a red crayon line, in
paralyzed reassurance.
At once,
it cradles me
in incense-flavored
eeriness.
It's inanimate flattery through
my permeable brain;
and it keeps me enslaved,
voiceless,
and void-bound.
It's a countdown to innocence
as time rewinds its tape;
and a purple wave envelops me...
And I don't mind.
Copyright © 2005 Anna Piutti
Anna's poetry trails smoothly in my journey and I welcome her words. The recital falls as gentle as drizzles when it begins to fall. No doubt poetic words delivers a calming effect for the one who writes and the one who receives and listens to the words with attention. "I began to write poetry when I was in my teens, in 1998. I was going through a lot of inner struggle. On a November afternoon, at my aunt’s house, I timidly typed a couple of lines at her computer. I felt relieved. That’s basically how it all started." She emphasis the effect of poetry..
When we least think of Poetry it knocks on our doors and at times when we call it to fill the inner void, it seems it had traveled out of our reach. Anna explains about poetry visits quite eloquently "I often suffer from the infamous “writer’s block”, which can last for months. It is quite frustrating. When new verses finally scream from within, and inebriate my every sense, it feels like an inner explosion. It is powerful, and relieving. It often happens when and where I least expect it. I once found myself scribbling words and fragments of verses on the back of a bus ticket I had in my pocket, being it the only piece of paper available to me at that very moment."
Anna admires the work of other poets, yet in the process of writing her own poems, it’s a relation of between her and poetry. Here she explains why: "I highly admire many poets, but to tell you the truth, I can’t think of a poem I wish I had written. What has been written is such an intimate part of each single author, that even though I can often empathize with verses I read, I could not possibly wish they belonged to me. Also, I deliberately avoid reading too much poetry (If I can, I’ll read none at all) while I’m writing, because I’d rather not imitate anyone."
Breakfast
High above the roofs,
the frost-lacquered
crane branch
holds a
plump, radiant
orange.
Hungry for warmth,
I grasp the vital
sphere and
slice it
into thick
wedges.
A paper towel on my lap, I
sink my teeth
into the morning’s glow:
calm,
juicy.
Sweetly sour.
Copyright © 2005 Anna Piutti
Unfolding Anna's pages of Poetry, what poetry stores for her, "I guess I’ll keep exploring life as it filters through me. However, I don’t have a specific place I wish to reach when it comes to writing. I never plan a poem in advance, nor do I write “on command”. If I were asked to write a poem as an assignment, I doubt the result would be satisfactory."
You have explored her different corners within her poetic walls, now take a visit to her blogspot Red As Wake
All Photos posted in this interview is the copyright of Anna Piutti..
